I finally got over my fear of possibly “wasting” supplies with resin gone wrong, and now I’m hooked! I’ve been resin-ing all kinds of things–bezels, old pocket-watch cases, even backless shapes (thanks to that little trick of backing them with packing tape and then removing it when the resin has cured). Hooked, I tell ya!

I finally decided that I didn’t really care if there might be mistakes or bubbles in the resin. The same way a few scratches and dings on my beloved car Violet don’t make her any less adorable, a few little mistakes in resin won’t (hopefully) totally ruin my resin jewelry designs. After that little revelation, I was free to create with resin. And oh my, I sure did. My favorite project so far is these resin fairy wings.

Cynthia Thornton’s Woodland Wings necklace

I’ve had a fascination with wings as long as I can remember. I own costume fairy wings, and numerous sets of feathery angel wings hang on my Christmas tree each year. I pick up seashells that look like wings on every beach I visit, and recently I was inspired to make wire and resin wings by Cynthia Thornton’s Woodland Wings necklace in Enchanted Adornments. She used tissue paper as a base in the wire to make hers (it literally disappears in the resin–brilliant!), but I had to experiment a bit. The wire, lace, papers, tulle, and organza I used were all scraps and project leftovers. Some of my resin wings were made with tissue in the middle, some with tulle, some with lace, and some with nothing at all. Next I’m going to try iridescent cellophane and maybe some of that vellum that has glitter in it. Scrap drawer, here I come! Here’s how I made them.

1. Bend wing shapes with wire. Leave tails long enough to create loops or bails for hanging or make those shapes first and then form wing shapes. Be creative, making some that are pointed, some rounded, some with curvy or scalloped edges. No two wings are alike, so don’t worry about that. Play with shapes and sizes to create interest.

2. Use thinner gauge wire to add details to the wings, like veins in a leaf. Add swirls, zigzags, curlicues, or just wrap wire back and forth to resemble feathers. These added wire designs give support to the middle of the wings and also provide a base for attaching tissue paper, lace, etc., later.

3. When your wire wing shapes are finished, press them as flat as possible onto a piece of sticky-side-up packing tape, which is taped down onto a plate or piece of cardstock so you can move it around easily. If you’re going to add lace, tissue paper, or ribbon, press it onto the tape inside the wire wing shape, too.

4. Fill the wire wing outline with a thin layer of resin. Be sure to pierce any bubbles with a toothpick or pin immediately, before the resin begins to set. Allow the resin to cure according to package instructions. My UV resin cured under the UV light in about 10 minutes.

5. When that layer has partially cured, add glitter or other sparkly inclusions if you choose, then add another layer of resin. Repeat this process until the wings are to your liking. I flipped mine over after they were cured and did an extra, thin layer of resin on the back, just to balance their thickness and to create a shiny, smooth, domed surface on the back, so they’d be pretty from both sides when they dangle in jewelry.

6. File or cut away any excess resin with heavy-duty scissors or old wire cutters. Wear goggles or glasses when you do this–the shards can fly off and they’re sharp! You might also want to sand a bit after you cut to remove sharp edges.

Voila! You have resin fairy wings. Use jump rings to attach them to a necklace or ear wires, or you could wire or solder them onto the back of a mixed-media fairy pendant.

WireLace resin wing

Resin Wing (or Petal, or Leaf, or. . .) Variations

I also made a wing (or petal?) shape out of an inch-long scrap of silver WireLace, simply by pulling the middle “open” and leaving the ends relatively “closed” and then coating it with resin. It worked beautifully, though I should have put a jump ring through the lace before I added the resin.

You could tint the resin green (or add greenish inclusions) and make leaves instead of wings. I made some smaller wire petal shapes and am combining them into a flower.

Also, you could use some real feathers in and/or on top of the resin to make angel wings instead of fairy wings (angel wings need feathers, right?).

More Resin Jewelry IdeasFor more inspiring resin jewelry projects, along with other fun jewelry-making techniques like metal clay, coloring on metal, wirework, and more, Enchanted Adornments is a beautiful book. It’s a reader’s book, too, because the projects are shared as part of an entertaining story with lovely illustrations. The print book is sold out, but it’s still available in digital form! It’s like getting two books in one–and it’s a jewelry-making book that doesn’t have to be relegated to the how-to section of your bookshelf!